ENGLAND international Henry Slade returns to the Exeter Chiefs starting line-up for their return to Gallagher Premiership action against Bath on Saturday (5.45pm).

Having featured in all four Autumn Test matches at Twickenham, the 31-year-old is poised to make his first start of the season for his club side, having undergone surgery on a shoulder injury.

Slade’s return to the Chiefs side will be a welcome boost for Rob Baxter’s side, who have yet to win in six top-flight fixtures this season – and it’s a statistic that has left the Devonians sitting just one place off the foot of the table.

Baxter has, however, been buoyed by his side’s winning formula in the Premiership Rugby Cup, where they have recorded victories over the Cornish Pirates, Hartpury and Gloucester this month.

Slade is one of two changes the Chiefs have made to their side that won at Gloucester last time out. He starts at fly-half in place of Will Haydon-Wood, who drops to the bench, while fellow England international Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is also included on the wing at the expense of Ben Hammersley.

Baxter believes his players have taken confidence from their recent Cup exertions and now they should be looking to put their best foot forward ahead of a big month ahead.

“The Cup block and the results we’ve had has allowed the lads to play some good rugby, see what opportunities are there for them, and has enable them to use their own individual strengths,” said the Chiefs’ Director of Rugby.

“That’s what we’ve tried to harness and now we just need to see if we can maintain that as we head back into the Premiership.

“Bath have been playing very well. Obviously, they were finalists last year and they have been one of the form teams and one of the strongest squads in the Premiership. Johann [Van Graan] has done a fantastic job and you can tell he’s a very switched-on guy around how they produce their performances.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge for us, but I think we need that now. This is what it should be about. After all, you’re in the Premiership to have tough games. It should be the best rugby you can play.

“Personally, I’m looking forward to it. The only messages I’m going to give the players is to get their heads up and just play. I don’t want them to be in the scenario where they think because it’s a Premiership game they have to play differently. There will be elements of it that will be a bit tougher, but it’s still a game of rugby.”

Exeter Chiefs: J Hodge; I Feyi-Waboso, T Tua, W Rigg, T Wyatt; H Slade (c), S Townsend; S Sio, D Frost, M Street; R Tuima, R Capstick; E Roots, J Vermeulen, G Fisilau. Replacements: J Innard, W Goodrick-Clarke, J Roots, F Molina, R Vintcent, W Becconsall, W Haydon-Wood, B Hammersley